


MinJi's Merman

by StarChild8



Series: Tales of Sciltroa [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Electrocution, Gen, Kidnapping, being held against will, glamour shifter hansol, merman seungkwan, nearly being starved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2020-08-13 11:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20173315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarChild8/pseuds/StarChild8
Summary: It was neversupposedto happen. This place wassupposedto be safe. He wassupposedto be the only one here tonight. He wassupposedto be gone for a few hours and then return home. Yet fate had other events in mind. So Seungkwan found himself struggling against the net. He tried to free himself so he could dive into deeper water. His attempts were fruitless as he was being pulled closer to the surface. Just before he was forced out of the water, he raised a hand up to his neck feeling for the necklace that he usually wore. He couldn’t feel it and looked around as best he could in the net. He could see a flash in the corner of his eye. It was his necklace drifting down and away from him. Tears mixed with the pond water as he watched his last hope fade into the dark abyss.---on hold due to writer's block for this story. sorry :(---





	1. Chapter 1

It was never _supposed_ to happen. This place was _supposed_ to be safe. He was _supposed_ to be the only one here tonight. He was _supposed_ to be gone for a few hours and then return home. Yet fate had other events in mind. So Seungkwan found himself struggling against the net. He tried to free himself so he could dive into deeper water. His attempts were fruitless as he was being pulled closer to the surface. Just before he was forced out of the water, he raised a hand up to his neck feeling for the necklace that he usually wore. He couldn’t feel it and looked around as best he could in the net. He could see a flash in the corner of his eye. It was his necklace drifting down and away from him. Tears mixed with the pond water as he watched his last hope fade into the dark abyss.

\----------

Seungkwan had asked if he could go to the Cheonjeyeon waterfalls alone. It was very unusual for a merfolk to want to go the waterfall alone. Everyone always said it was dangerous to go alone. Hell, it was dangerous to go in groups less than five. But Seungkwan really wanted to go. Everyone else was too busy to accompany him. Besides, he just wanted some alone time.

It took a bit of convincing, but his mother finally agreed to let him go alone. Her only condition was that he made sure to wear his conch shell necklace. Seungkwan never went anywhere without it so he agreed in a heartbeat. He called the lady who worked at the tourist spot for the waterfall to inform her that he was stopping by later that night. She promised him she would ensure all tourists had left by ten and any Munprarians working there would be gone. She gave him a forewarning about it being dangerous at night like he expected she would. He promised he’d stay safe and would be gone before it was two in the morning.

That was his plan. Arrive at ten thirty. Leave by one thirty. Just a few hours to himself. Before he left, Seungkwan’s mother stopped him, “Honey, hold on. Let me check your necklace.”

Seungkwan turned to his mom with a smile. He pulled the shell out from inside his shirt, “It’s right here Mom. You know I never leave the house without it.”

“I know,” she smiled sweetly, “I just had to make sure. Remember if you are ever in danger, just blow into it. It will emit a signal only Sciltroans can hear. We’ll come right away if we hear it. Okay?”

Seungkwan let the necklace go. It fell against his chest as he wrapped his arms around his mother, “I’ll only be gone for a few hours. I promise to be back before you even wake up.” He felt her return his hug. Her only reply was a nod. They stood there for a few seconds before his mom reluctantly let him go.

“Be safe.”

“I promise I will be,” Seungkwan gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. He stepped back and left with a wave.

The journey there wasn’t too long. He biked most of it. Once he reached the fall, he made his way to the second waterfall’s pond. His bike was left safely hidden in forrest. Seungkwan was certain nobody would come out here. It was technically illegal to after tourist hours. The merfolk were allowed to as the water was actually from Sciltroa. The cave from which the water flowed out of was somehow connected to the other land. Creatures couldn’t pass through, but water could. Or that was what Seungkwan was told.

He had been born in Sciltroa, but shortly afterwards his family moved into Munpraria. They settled in Jeju for the Cheonjeyeon waterfall specifically. He had no memories for his birth land. He had no idea how they knew this was Sciltroan water. _‘We can feel the difference’_ was all he was told when he asked how they could tell. Seungkwan couldn’t tell the difference between the types of water if his life depended on in. But he really had no right to question them. No matter where the water came from, he enjoyed his life here.

At the pond of the second waterfall, Seungkwan stripped himself down. He left his clothes in a neatly folded pile next to his backpack. He stepped into the water. It was cool and refreshing against his skin. He swam out until he was above a deeper section. He relaxed and himself shift into his true form. He could feel his scales grow over the skin of his legs forming his tail.

Seungkwan spun around happily. He looked down at his tail. It was a pale blue with pastel pink on the fin tips. The moonlight reflected off the scales dimly. He smiled widely and dove down. He flipped around, swimming in various directions. His laughter rang out underwater as clear as though he was on land.

He spent nearly thirty minutes splashing around by himself. Then he heard it. The sound of others. Seungkwan could hear their footsteps, but he couldn’t make out their voices. Curiously he swam over to a rock near the shore. He glanced out looking for the source of the voices. The people were obscured within the trees. There was no telling if they were some merfolk who decided to come afterall or were simply humans.

His eyes darted around looking for where he left his stuff. He couldn’t find them from where he was. He sank low into the water so his eyes were still above water to look for his clothes. Seungkwan quietly swam parallel to the shore. His attention solely focused on locating his items. He didn’t notice the figures emerge from the treeline. Nor did he notice the contraption several carried.

It wasn’t until Seungkwan found himself in a net did he realize what was going on. Fear filled him. Even though he managed to swim a few feet down, he knew it was much too late to escape now. He missed his chance. And when he had thrashed about in the net, his necklace came loose. Seungkwan stuck an arm through one of the holes in the net in an attempt to grab the shell. It was too far out of his reach.

He was sobbing by the time he had been forced upon the shore. The thought of shifting back into human form and running crossed his mind. It wouldn’t work. There were too many people. One would most definitely catch him.

Seungkwan just laid still as they pulled the net off him. He watched them work with blurred eyes. Tears ran down his face. He wanted to scream, but held his tongue fearfully. A man stepped closer to him. He held some object toward the merman. Seungkwan felt a jolt of pain shooting through his body. He cried out in pain. His vision dimmed and black creeped around the edge before closing in. Seungkwan tried his hardest to stay awake, but grew weak. He finally caved and passed out cold.

When he awoke, Seungkwan found himself in a tank. He vaguely remembered stirring several times, but promptly being knocked out each time. He was still in his true form, never having switched back. He looked around trying to figure out where he was exactly. Everything was unfamiliar to him. There was nothing to indicate where he could be. The only things he could in the room other than the tank was a shelf full of boxes, a moveable staircase next to his tank, and a desk with a computer on it.

He swam up to the top of the tank where a mesh fabric covered it. Tentatively, Seungkwan reached up to touch it. Electricity shot through him. He screamed and quickly withdrew his hand. Cradling his hand, he looked around the tank. It was around fifteen feet tall, twenty feet wide and twenty feet long if he were to guess. He could swim around, but not comfortably. There was a square towards the bottom on the side of the tank next to the wall.

Cautiously Seungkwan swam towards it. He didn’t dare touch it. It appeared to be a door. Where it lead, he didn’t know. The gaps weren’t big enough for him to look through. He frowned in confusion.

The door to the room swung open. Seungkwan spun around in the water. An older Asian male stepped into the room. He was short with grey hair and wrinkles weighing his face down. He wore a sharp business suit. His dark, cold eyes were framed with thin golden square glasses. Seungkwan didn’t like the aura the man gave off.

“I see your up now,” his voice was just as cold as his eyes, “Welcome to your new home.”

“And where is that?” Seungkwan asked. His voice trembled, but came out stronger than he thought it would.

“MinJi’s Wonders of the World. And you are my new star wonder! A real merman! Although the people will probably assume your an actor… No worries. You are real regardless.”

“Return me home at once! I’m not some attraction for people to look at! Especially when I’m being held against my will!” The merman wasn’t sure where his confidence was coming from.

“Return you? After I flew you all the way out to New York from Jeju? No, no, no. Not going to happen. I care not for your wishes. I must take my leave. Just know that you will act happy when on display. Unless you fancy being electrocuted that is. Rest well. Your exhibition opens tomorrow,” The man disappeared out the door. Seungkwan could hear the lock click in place.

He broke down crying. _New York? That was a joke right?_ There was no way he was that far away from home. This had to be a bad dream. He’d wake up soon in his nice warm bed. He pinched himself. Yet nothing happened. He was still trapped. Swimming down to the bottom of the tank, Seungkwan curled himself into a ball. He thoughts raced as he tried to process what was going on. The emotional toll weighed down on him making him exhausted despite just waking up recently. He closed his eyes to fall asleep. Just before he drifted off, he whispered to himself, “I’m sorry Mom.”


	2. Chapter 2

Pain woke him up. His eyes shot open as he looked around frantically. A female sat at the desk. She turned towards him, “Raise and shine fish boy. We open in thirty minutes and you need to get into the show tank.”

“I’m hungry…” Seungkwan pouted. He had no idea how long he had been out while he was being moved. What he did know was that his stomach was empty and growling.

“You can only eat if you behave today. Got it? Now,” She hit a few buttons on the keyboard, “Go.”

A sliding sound was heard from behind the male. He looked behind him. The square was raised up opening to another tank. He looked back towards the woman, “Through there?”

“Where the fuck else would you go?”

Seungkwan sighed. He hated having to do as told, but he feared the consequences of disobeying more. He squeezed himself through the opening. As soon as he entered the new tank completely, the door closed. This tank was larger than the other and wasn’t empty. There were several small fish swimming around and fake plants. The door was hidden behind rows of fake seaweed. Seungkwan pushed his way past them. The man from yesterday- MinJi, if he remembered correctly- stood on the other side of the glass. MinJi smiled wickedly as Seungkwan entered his vision.

“How long do I have to be here?” The younger asked. His question seemingly fell upon deaf ears. He repeated, “How long do I have to be here?”

MinJi’s lips moved, but no sound came out. Seungkwan realized the glass was to thick to allow sound to travel through. He frowned at the man instead. The elder simply waved and walked off.

Seungkwan took to exploring the new tank. There was glass for every wall except for the fake rock wall where the two tanks connected. He couldn’t recognise any of the fish in the tank with him. There was a spot on the rock wall where it caved in. He found he could sit comfortably in the little clove. There was another rock where he could sit upon closer to the glass so people could see him better. He didn’t have anything to do. Yet this tank was much better than the tank in the back. He wanted to stay in this one.

After sometime, he noticed people walking by his tank. Small children pointed at him excitedly and dragged their parents over to look at him. Seungkwan smiled at their actions. He waved at them. Honestly, they weren’t the problem. They would assume he was an actor who was being paid for this. It was MinJi. Seungkwan knew that he would never be able to find it in his heart to be mad at the people on the other side of the glass.

So instead he did some flips and twirls. He showed off to the people who would stop by his tank. Several people wanted photos and he posed for them. When no one was near him, he rested in the little clove on the rock wall. He liked the attention if he were being honest. But he absolutely hated being here against his will. He wanted to go home to where he was certain his mother would be freaking out with worry over him.

The day dragged along. As it got closer to closing time, less people came along. Seungkwan stared into nothingness. He was tired and starving. The sound of the door opening sounded throughout the tank. Seungkwan perked up and swam towards it. As much as he wanted to stay in this tank, he was sure they’d only feed him in the back one.

The female from earlier had been replaced by a male. He didn’t even look away from the computer screen when the merman entered the tank. Like before, the door closed behind him. The door opened and another man entered carrying a tray. The man climbed up the stairs to the top of the tank. Seungkwan went to swim up, but the man’s harsh voice stopped him, “You stay down there.”

Even though he was confused, Seungkwan listened. He watched the man slide the mesh away from the side of the tank just enough to fit the tray through. He placed the tray on top of the water which floated to Seungkwan’s surprise. The man replaced the mesh, “_Now_ you can eat.”

Seungkwan swam up to the top while remaining careful of the mesh above him. The water had been drained slightly so Seungkwan could eat without electrocuting himself on the net. The meal only consisted of a small bowl of rice, some bread and a small fish. He frowned at the portion sizes, but ate it nonetheless. He was still hungry after finishing the meal. Yet he knew he wouldn’t get more. Asking would be pointless. So he swam to the bottom of the tank. The male reopened the mesh, grabbed the empty tray and closed the tank before leaving.

The man at the computer stood after who knows how long passed. He wordlessly opened the door, turned off the lights and left. Darkness settled in around Seungkwan. He sighed and tried to get comfortable. It was an impossible task. He gave up and fell into a light uneasy sleep. He dreamt of home. Of his mother’s warm smile and her cooking. Of playing games in the waterfalls with his friends and sisters. Of being surrounded by his loving family, away from this dark, cold place.

Many days passed by like that. Those days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Seungkwan cried every night. He wondered what his family thought happened to him. If they were searching for him or if he had been announced as dead. They didn’t have a lot of money, but maybe they had managed to hire a hunter to track him down and bring him home. Or if they had possibly seen a picture of him floating around the internet and were planning to come get him. The more time that passed, the more he worried they had given up on him.

Yet he still performed for audiences who came to his tank. He held onto the hope that maybe- _maybe_\- MinJi would release him. It was unlikely, but it was all Seungkwan had left to hope for. It was his best chance of returning home. So day in and day out, Seungkwan smiled and waved and flipped and twirled and posed. He never blamed nor hated the people. Their smiles upon seeing him filled him with joy. He loved to make them happy.

There was a particularly slow day one day. Seungkwan had only a handful of visitors by midday compared to his usual thirty or so. He rested in his little clove humming softly to himself. He was absentmindedly twirling his slightly longer hair when a young male approached his tank. The merman pushed himself off the rocks toward the male. He smiled and waved as he usually did.

The male didn’t smile or wave back. He simply stood there, a frown upon his face. Seungkwan raised an eyebrow at him. He studied the man’s face. It was very attractive in Seungkwan’s opinion. He had a strong jawline and cheekbones. His brunette bangs swept down just above his eyes. His eyes were most intriguing to the merman. They appeared to be grey, but shifted colors at different angles. At one angle they flashed green, at another they were blue and were golden at yet another. In between each change they were a soft grey. It was as though the man’s eyes couldn’t settle on what color to be, but kept trying to settle on grey before changing.

Seungkwan tilted his head in curiosity. He watched the man’s plump lips move and tried to communicate that he couldn’t hear him. He held his arms up in an x shape before tapping one of his ears, “It’s soundproof.”

The man’s frown deepened. He looked around for something. Seungkwan didn’t know what he was looking for, but he figured he didn’t find it. The male looked back at Seungkwan. His shifting eyes harbored such a sadness the merman wasn’t sure where it came from. He swam a little closer to the man since he couldn’t do much else. The two stared into each others eyes. His eyes were very enchanting. The color shifting was mesmerizing.

The male held a hand up to the tank. Seungkwan looked down at it before placing his own hand against the glass. He looked back up into the man’s eyes. He found himself getting lost in them. He was curious as to what the man wanted exactly.

It felt like several minutes ticked away before the male reluctantly pulled away. He stepped back from the tank. The expression on his face was so sad as he turned to leave. Seungkwan stayed close to the glass, watching his figure disappear around a corner.

The day ended shortly after the incident. He couldn’t get the strange man out of his mind. It was a very odd encounter. No one else had acted like that. He wasn’t sure what the man wanted. He was certain that the man wasn’t human. No human has eyes like that. Maybe the male had realised Seungkwan was a real merman and not an actor? Surely he had to question why Seungkwan could stay underwater for so long without needing air? That night, Seungkwan dreamed of the man instead of home.

The next day, Seungkwan had more visitors. It seemed like any other day. Yet yesterday’s events kept playing in his mind. He wanted to know who the man was so desperately. He wanted to see him again.

It appeared life answered his silent calls. The man walked into the room with Seungkwan’s tank. Seungkwan quickly swam over to him. He smiled and waved happily. The man smiled back. And Seungkwan swooned. His smile was beautiful. He wondered why he didn’t smile yesterday. He watched the male unsling one of the straps of a backpack he wore. The man pulled out a notebook before he dug around again. This time he produced a pencil.

He sat down in front of the tank and began to write something. Seungkwan allowed himself to sink down so they were at the same level. The male turned the notebook towards Seungkwan. It read _“Hello. My name is Hansol.”_ in neat Korean. The merman tilted his head at how he knew Seungkwan only spoke Korean. He tried to figure out how to communicate his own name, but he had nothing to use. He figured he could try to spell letters out with his fingers.

Before he could, Hansol had flipped the page and was writing again. _“You’re Boo Seungkwan, aren’t you?”_ Seungkwan could feel tears prick at his eyes as he nodded his head frantically. _“I hear about your disappearance when I was in Daejeon. Never thought I’d see you here.”_

Daejeon? That means his disappearance had reached the mainland and worked its way up quite a bit. Tears pooled out his eyes, mixing with the water in the tank. He watched as Hansol wrote something else down. _“I’m working on a way to get you out. I don’t know how long it will take. Please be patient.”_ Seungkwan nodded again.

The pencil moved against the paper quickly as Hansol continued to write. _“I’m sorry this happened to you. I promise to free you so don’t worry.”_

Seungkwan smiled at the words, “Thank you.” He knew Hansol couldn’t hear him, but he seemed to understand what he meant. Hansol put the notebook and pencil away. He stood up and placed his hand against the glass. Seungkwan floated up to his level and returned the gesture. They remained like that until more people entered the room. Hansol removed his hand from the glass and waved goodbye with it. The merman waved before turning his attention to the newcomers. He was going to be okay. Hansol knew who he was. His family hadn’t given up. He was going to be free soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Hansol had decided to accompany his father on a business trip he was taking to New York. His father had been commissioned to work on a mural. His mother wanted to go, but had to stay behind for her work. Plus she didn’t want to leave his younger sister Sofia alone for too long. Sofia had school to attend to so she could not come with. Hansol told his mother his sister was old enough to take care of herself for the week they would be gone and that she would be able to get the week off if she really wanted to come. But his mother didn’t want Sofia to be lonely so she stayed. He accepted her choice to not go.

Together the pair boarded their flight to New York City. The flight would be making only one stop and the total flight hours were about fifteen hours. Hansol read a book for most of the time and slept the rest. His father doodled in a notebook and watched a movie on the small television in front of him. For the most part, it was a peaceful flight. At one point a child started to cry about something. The parent quickly settled their child down. Hansol didn’t mind the crying. While it did disturb his sleep, he knew these things were to be expected on such long flights.

The plan arrived safely at the airport without a hitch. The duo hailed a cab and made their way to their hotel. They were staying in one room with two twin beds. They set about getting comfortable for the week. Afterwards they sat down together and ordered room service for dinner. They began to plan their week properly while eating.

His father would be working throughout most of the day everyday except for Saturday while they were there. They planned to go do things once Hansol’s father was done for the day. Most of the days were going to be winged plans. They knew for certain that they wanted to watch a movie the next day and go shopping on Friday. Saturday the two were planning on going to an escape room before taking a painting class together. His father didn’t need the class, but it sounded like a fun thing they could do together.

During the day while his father was working, Hansol would be able to go exploring by himself. So he pulled up a list of places he could visit. There were various museums and several shows or tours he could attend. Nothing in particular really caught his eye. It all seemed like any other major city attractions. He went to the next page on Google. He wanted to find something slightly unique.

His eyes landed on a link that read, “MinJi’s World of Wonders: Come See the Magnificent Merman!” It wasn’t too intriguing. Hansol had seen a fair share of ‘real’ merpeople at various places. The attempts humans made were cute. They just weren’t always realistic. All the merfolk he had ever met always complained about how fake the actors pretending to be them were. They appreciated the effort and were flattered by it, but found it cheesy. It was too bad Sciltroans had to hide or real merpeople who take over entertainment in his opinion.

Despite his stance on the whole situation, Hansol decided to go check it out. He was wondering how they attempt it this time. With his mind made up, he changed into pajamas and got ready for bed. He told his father a quick good night before falling asleep.  
His dad was gone by the time he woke up. The sun rays shone brightly through the window. Hansol set about getting ready for the day at a slow pace. There was no need to rush. He stopped by Starbucks on the way for a cup of coffee and breakfast.

MinJi’s World of Wonder was a medium sized building on the corner of a street. It took up at least half of the block and appeared to be three stories tall. Hansol paid when he entered and grabbed a map. He glanced over it seeing what all there was. The first area had various wax figures scattered about it. The area next to it was full of mini replicas of various landmarks and world wonders. There were some believe it or not rooms adjacent to one side of the mini replicas room. On the other side was optical illusion rooms.

Hansol nearly snorted upon reading a brief summary of the illusion rooms. Technically speaking, his face could be considered an optical illusion. He was half changeling. His father was human while his mother was a changeling. The officially unofficial term used for half changelings was glamour shapeshifters because that was basically all they could do. His mother could completely morph herself into another person. Height, weight, gender, skin and hair tone didn’t matter. She could look like whatever she pleased. Sofia and Hansol, on the other hand, had limitations. They couldn’t change their height, weight, gender or skin tone like their mother. They could change their hair and eye color and their facial structures however they pleased though. Hair length could also be changed which occasional made for a good joke.

The second floor of the building was a mini aquarium and the third floor was dedicated to space themed rooms. He decided to forego the first floor completely. He made his way to the elevator and pushed the second floor button. Hansol stepped out of the elevator once the doors opened. He almost made a beeline for the merman exhibit, but chose to look around for a bit instead.

There was a variety of different types of fish in all the tanks. A majority of them were of the smaller sized species due to the limited space. Yet there was a larger sized tank near the merman room. The larger tank contained a couple of small sized sharks. They swam around with the other fish in there tank calmly. There was an empty tank where an octopus used to be, but according to the sign, the octopus had somehow managed to escape into the drain pipes.

Hansol began to approach the room dedicated to this so-called merman. He stopped once he saw a male standing just outside the doorway. He tentatively watched the man who stared into the room. Hansol looked him up and down. The man had brunette hair swept up slightly. His golden eyes framed by circle glasses focused on something in the room unblinking. He wore a dark turtleneck and a light overcoat. His lips were drawn in a small frown. Something felt off about the man, but it was oddly familiar.

He shook the feeling off as he began to move forward. Once he was a few feet away, the man stirred. He blinked and cast a glance at Hansol. The two smiled awkwardly at one another. The odd male bowed his head before walking off. Hansol watched him for a second. He shook his head and stepped into the open room.


	4. Chapter 4

The room was bigger than the other aquarium rooms. It was open in the center with some small tanks lining a few walls. Against the far wall, was a huge tank filled with several fake plants. There were various fish swimming around in it. But what was in the center caused the corners of Hansol’s mouth to tug down. A merman sat in a little hollowed out part of the rock wall. Hansol knew something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He couldn’t quite figure it out until the merman noticed his presence and turned towards him. A conversation from the other month replayed in Hansol’s memory.

***

Hansol had gone to an event in Daejeon his friend Minghao was throwing. It was an event for Sciltroans only and everyone who was someone was going. Personally, Hansol was attending simply because Minghao asked him to. He was never one to judge others, but the last time he was at an event that had more than five different species mixed together didn’t end well. Though he did suppose it was the ogre's fault for insulting the small faery which insinuated the fight. Either way, Hansol had fled before things got too rough and Hunters showed up. He had nothing against Hunters, he just didn’t feel like filling out all the paperwork of being an eyewitness.

Nevertheless, Hansol showed up to the club Minghao rented out for the night. Loud music could be heard from a block away. Inside was packed as various creatures danced, drank and mingled. Since no Munprarians were allowed in, everyone was free to be themselves. Animal shifters had ears and tails out. Faeries’ wings glittered under the changing lights. Warlocks had their marks on display. Vampires smiled wide enough to flash their fangs. Hansol silently prayed to whatever deity was listening that no one got too drunk and started a fight.

He weaved his way through a throng of people trying to find a familiar face. It was hard with the amount of people, but one did catch his eyes. He couldn’t recall the name of the faery. Yet he was certain he had seen him around before. Yes. He definitely had. He remembered the red hair falling into pinkish purple eyes. He remembered the moon and star earrings. He remembered the soft pink dragonfly-like wings. The short faery was most definitely the one who had been in the fight last time. Hansol quickly changed directions just in case. He really did not want to be around if another fight broke out.

Hansol made his way to the second floor of the club. His eyes scanning for Minghao. He found the vampire leaning over a rail overlooking the dance floor with a glass full of presumably blood delicately held in one hand. Hansol called out to the elder who perked up and turned to face him with a grin.

“Glad you could make it!” Minghao shouted above the music.

“Yeah. Hopefully it doesn’t end like last time.” Both chuckled. Minghao returned his gaze to the dancefloor. Hansol stood beside him and looked down, “Someone peak your interest?”

“Not really. It’s just Jun,” Minghao pointed and Hansol followed to see where he was pointing at. Down below, Jun- Minghao’s half brother- was dancing with a brunette haired demon. Hansol couldn’t see the demon’s face, but the red and black wings prodding from the back seemed familiar. “I hope Jun knows what he’s getting into with that high ranking of a demon.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Hansol reassured him. The two continued to chat for a bit. At some point another one of their friends, Mingyu, joined them. It was a bit odd to see the tall male with his wolf ears and fluffy tail on full display. He usually kept them hidden even around other Sciltroans. Something about his hearing being overly sensitive and not liking people trying to feel his tail. Hansol never questioned it. It was Mingyu’s choice to do as he pleased.

“Did you two hear?” Minghao asked suddenly, “About the kid who disappeared from Jeju?”

Both Mingyu and Hansol shook their heads. Minghao sighed and rested his head on the palm of one hand. His gaze still on the floor below as he spoke, “Apparently a merman was kidnapped. He went out for a night swim by himself. When he didn’t come back in the morning, his mother grew worried. Hunters found his bike and all the belongs he took with him still by the pond.”

“Who do they think took him? A Sciltroan or human?” Mingyu inquired.

“The Hunters had the local pack in the area check it out. They said it was hard to tell, but seemed like humans.”

“That’s horrible… How would they have even known?” Hansol asked, fear lacing his voice.

The vampire shrugged, “I don’t know. Keep an eye out for him both of you, please.” It wasn’t so much as asking, but telling them to do so. Minghao pulled out his phone and opened up his gallery, “I had them send me the most recent picture of him available.”

Hansol looked at the photo. There was a boy smiling widely with his arms wrapped around an older woman- most likely his mother. He had short blonde hair and soft brown eyes. His face was full. He didn’t look much older than Hansol which made his stomach churn. Minghao put his phone away after a few minutes.

“In his true form, he has a blue tail with pink fins,” the elder informed.

***

_Blue tail with pink fins. Blue tail. Pink fins. Blue tail. Pink fins._ The words echoed in Hansol’s mind. He stared at the merman in the tank. He looked at his face. It was a bit chubby, but looked like he wasn’t being fed properly. The merman had long blonde hair with dark roots growing in. His tail was a pale blue with pink fins. There was no doubt. This had to be the missing boy.

The merman was looking at him with his head tilted. He seemed confused. Hansol stared into his eyes, “You… You’re the merman who was taken. Aren’t you?”

He watched the merman form an x with his arm before tapping one of his ears. He could see his lips moving, but no sound came out. _The glass is sound is soundproof… Just my luck…_ Hansol looked around to see if there was anything for him to write on and with. Nothing. Absolutely nothing useful was around him. He looked back at the merman sadly. The merman still looked confused as he swam a little closer to the glass. The two held eye contact with not much else to do.

Hansol vaguely remembers bringing his hand up to the glass. He didn’t really mean to, but it seemed like the right thing to do and instinct took over. The merman broke eye contact to look down. Hansol could see the other bringing his arm up as well in the edge of his vision. They locked eyes again.

It felt like forever that Hansol stood there. Finally after some point, he reluctantly dropped his arm and stepped away. He kept his eyes trained on the merman as he took several steps back. Once he was several feet away, the glamour shifter turned away and walked out. He went straight back to the hotel. His thoughts were clouded and jumping all over the place. He was trying to figure out what he could do.

In the hotel room, Hansol called Minghao. He didn’t bother checking what time it was in Korea currently, if Minghao was even still there. It didn’t matter. The vampire never slept. He was rarely ever too busy to pick up a call. He picked up on the third ring. Hansol didn’t give him a chance to say a single word, “Hyung. I think I found him. The merman who was kidnapped. I’m sure it was him.”

“You- what? You mean Boo Seungkwan?”

“If that’s his name, yes. Blue tail with pink tips. Blonde hair. Brown eyes. Who else could it have been?”

“I’ll send you the picture real quick. Are you absolutely certain it was him.”

Hansol’s phone pinged as the picture was sent. He looked at and remembered the face of the man in the tank, “Yes. One hundred percent certain. Hyung he was underwater for over fifteen minutes without coming up for air or a tank. He has the same face and tail. It was him. What do I do?”

“Hmmm… You should inform the local Hunters. They’ll take care of it,” Minghao explained, “They’re trained for these kinds of things.”

“How long would they take?”

“Uhh… I don’t know… They’d need to get evidence and such first. Is it a Munprarian keeping him captive or a Sciltroan?”

“Human I believe.”

“Then they’ll have to play by human laws which could take a while. Wait. Hansol, you’re not thinking of taking matters into your own hands are you?”

“Hyung. I have to help him. And fast. He looks under fed and tired and like he isn’t being treated properly which he probably isn’t. I can’t wait while the Hunters sit around trying to collect evidence.”

“Hansol you’re alone. It’s dangerous-”

“I know.”

“... Then be careful. And at least inform your dad before you bust him out.”

“You know my dad wouldn’t let me. He’d tell me into the police.”

Minghao sighed, “So you’re going to try and break Seungkwan out. Without your dad knowing and without telling the Hunters. Then what? You bring him to the hotel, then tell your dad what happened and bring him back with you? That’s it?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re only there for a week. Act fast.”

“I will.”


	5. Chapter 5

The next day Hansol sat in the hotel room trying to figure out a way he could rescue Seungkwan. His best course of actions was to observe the workers there and get a rough daily schedule. He could find some way to hide until after hours and rescue the merman while everyone was gone. Certainly there was some way he could pull this off.

By the time midday was around, Vernon was on his way back to “The World of Wonders”. He had stopped by a store first and bought a simple notebook and some pens. After paying for his entry ticket, he made a beeline for the elevator. Today was a bit more crowded than yesterday. As he approached the room, he saw people filing in. Hansol decided to wait until the room was empty. He didn’t want humans mendling in their business making things more difficult than they already were.

While waiting he decided to keep a look out for employees. See if he could notice any patterns or anything particular about them. In order to not look suspicious, he feigned interest in the fish tanks around the area. Only a few employees passed by. One he could see feeding fish from the other side of the walls. Hansol knew he only just started, but he felt frustrated with how things were going. He should be doing something more to help.

After thirty minutes or so, the glamour shifter noticed a familiar figure approaching. It was the man from yesterday. His hair was styled the same as the day before along with the glasses framing his eyes. His eyes… Golden eyes… _Could he be a Sciltroan? Or was he just an odd human who decided to wear color contacts with glasses?_

The man didn’t notice Hansol as he walked past. He stopped in front of the room with Seungkwan in it. All he did was stand there staring into the room. His eyes glimmered with sadness and mouth fixed in a permanent frown. Hansol wanted to approach the man. Wanted to ask him what he was doing and who- or what- he was. Yet when Hansol went to move closer, the man slowly turned to him. The brunette froze in place. He wasn’t sure why. The stranger walked off quickly. Hansol let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He shook the odd feelings off. The man was certainly a mystery, but that wasn’t a priority at the moment.

Hansol entered the room when a small group of friends left leaving it empty. Seungkwan noticed him and smiled as he moved closer to the glass. The glamour shifter smiled when the merman waved at him. As he got closer to the tank, Hansol took off one strap of his backpack to pull out the notebook he bought.

Quickly, he wrote on the paper, “Hello. My name is Hansol.” He tried to keep the writing neat. He turned the notebook around to show the merman who had a look of surprise on his face. The expression changed as Seungkwan tried to figure out how to reply back. Communication was going to be hard and mostly rely on Hansol. But he didn’t mind. Even if he did, there wasn’t much he could do to change it. He wrote what he wanted to say on the paper while Seungkwan could only nod. That’s how they’d have to play this out in the meantime.

After going through the process a few times, Hansol put the objects back into his bag. He stood up. He put his hand against the glass like yesterday. Seungkwan copied him. Neither knew how long they stood there. They remained still and staring into each other’s eyes. Hansol only pulled away when he noticed people enter the room. Sadly, he waved goodbye before leaving the room.

Hansol took notice of the security cameras as he made his way out of the building. Each room and hallway had two. One at each end. That would definitely be a problem. He’d figure this out. Somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait and for this being short. I'm still dealing with writer's block and all my notes for this story vanished XC


End file.
